Developer Seeks Changes to Stalled Princeton Apartment Project

On Jan. 8, the owners of the Ironwood at Princeton property formally asked the City of Princeton to amend the Planned Development (PD) that governs the stalled multifamily project at 599 W. Princeton Drive. The roughly 15.4-acre site, acquired by Blóm Capital in late 2024, sits along US 380 just east of Walmart and has been the focus of construction delays and prior code-enforcement issues. The Princeton City Council scheduled a public hearing on the requested changes for Monday, Jan. 12 at the Municipal Center.

The amendments seek several substantive modifications intended to simplify construction and reduce long-term maintenance demands while delivering a luxury apartment community. Key proposed changes include replacing 97 individual enclosed garages with 69 carports, allowing certain applications of cementitious siding to qualify as masonry, eliminating planned dog-wash and car-wash amenities while retaining a large pool, and removing a requirement for a staffed entry gate.

Those specific adjustments carry concrete implications for nearby residents and future tenants. Replacing individual garages with carports reduces enclosed personal storage and weather protection for vehicles, which could affect appeal to renters accustomed to private garage space. Allowing cementitious siding to count as masonry may speed construction and lower costs, but some neighbors may regard that tradeoff as a change in long-term material expectations. Dropping the staffed gate alters security and operating costs for the property; without the staffed gate requirement, management decisions about access control and on-site employment could shift.

The project’s location on a busy stretch of US 380 amplifies the stakes. Completion of the development would add households to a corridor that already supports retail and commuter traffic, potentially increasing local traffic volumes but also broadening the tax base and demand for services. For a site with a troubled construction history and prior code-enforcement actions, council consideration of these amendments is a pivotal moment: it could restart a stalled project and change the neighborhood’s character, or raise renewed scrutiny of whether proposed compromises are appropriate.

The Jan. 12 public hearing will give residents and municipal officials an opportunity to examine the proposed PD changes, ask questions about construction timelines and maintenance commitments, and express concerns about traffic, security, and neighborhood impact. As the council weighs the amendments, the decision will shape whether the Ironwood at Princeton moves forward in a form that addresses both developer practicalities and community priorities.